Titus 3:14 And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. The metaphor implieth that as the Church is God's orchard or garden, and His ministers are His planters and waterers, so the faithful are the trees, even trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, and planted by the rivers of waters, that they might bring forth their fruit in due season; and teacheth that true Christianity is not a barren but a fruitful profession, unto which Christians are everywhere called. In Ezekiel 47:12, we have a notable resemblance of those manifold fruits, which by the power of the gospel should be by believers produced in the Church of the New Testament. The vision was of waters which ran from the Temple, and from under the threshold of the sanctuary. And wheresoever these waters should run, they should cause admirable fruitfulness, in so much as on both sides of the river shall grow all kind of fruitful trees, whose leaves shall not fade, and their fruit shall not fail. These waters are the gospel which issue from under the threshold: that is, from Christ the door, typified by that beautiful gate of the Temple; from the Temple at Jerusalem these waters were with swift current to run not only over Judaea, but all the world in a short space: hence was the Church mightily increased, for though these waters run into the dead sea, wherein (if we believe histories) abideth no living thing, yet such a quickening power they carry with them, as even there everything shall live; such as were dead in trespasses and sins are hereby quickened, and become trees of righteousness green and flourishing, yea, and constantly fruitful in all godly conversation. And this the same which our Saviour noteth (John 15:17), that His Father is the husbandman, Himself is the Vine, Christians are the branches of that vine, who if they be found, His Father purgeth that they may bring forth more fruit; teaching us hereby that it is the Lord's scope and aim that Christians should be abundant in fruits beseeming their profession. The Apostle Paul accordingly exhorteth the Philippians to be much in goodness, to abound in love, in knowledge, and in all judgment; yea, to be filled with fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ unto the glory and praise of God. And the same apostle calleth rich men to be rich in good works. I. THE CONDITIONS OF THIS FRUITFULNESS. 1. Every Christian must be fruitful; for every fruitless branch is cut down and made fuel for the fire. 2. Every Christian must bring forth good fruit. 3. This fruitfulness must proceed from good causes. (1) The tree must be good, for men gather not grapes of thistles. (2) He must have a good root (John 15:4), (3) He must draw thence good sap and juice through the fellowship and communion of Christ's death and resurrection. (4) He must have the Spirit of the Son to be a principal agent in the setting and ripening of these fruits. (5) He must have the love of God within him, constraining him, which will be as the sun helping on these fruits to their perfection. (6) He must have good ends in his eye, viz., God's glory and man's good (Philippians 1:2). 4. Every Christian must bring forth much fruit, and not for clusters scarce berries, trees of righteousness are: laden with the fruits of the Spirit; and herein is the Father glorified, that ye bring forth much fruit (John 15:8). 5. Christians must continue fruitful, and grow daily more fruitful (John 15:2). II. REASONS TO MOVE CHRISTIANS TO THIS FRUITFULNESS. 1. God's pains and costs with us. 2. It is more than time to yield up our fruits. Let us consider how much we have already lost, and how little remaineth behind, and this cannot but be as a loud voice in our ears unto fruitfulness. 3. Heavenly wisdom which is from above is full of good fruits; which, if it have taken up our hearts, will bewray itself in love, in joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, and such like; and as naturally we rejoice to see everything about us fruitful — our fields, our cattle, our orchards — even so this supernatural wisdom would make it the delight of our souls to see our hearts and lives laden with the best fruits. 4. The barren condition hath little comfort in it, and the danger of unfruitfulness is very great; for God's fearful displeasure disburdeneth itself, and seizeth on such persons by sundry degrees. (1) The Lord rejecteth them. (2) Degree of God's curse on such fruitless branches is the withering which presently followeth their casting forth, and this the Lord bringeth on them two ways: sometimes by removing means of fruitfulness, and so having laid His vineyard waste, He threateneth, in the next place, that the clouds should not rain upon it (Isaiah 5:6): and sometimes by blowing upon the gifts He had given, he shall lose his sap and greenness he once had; the unprofitable servant after conviction must have his talent taken from him; and this curse is so eminent upon many men that, comparing them with themselves not long since, a man may say, as the disciples of the fig tree, against which the curse was passed from the mouth of Christ, "How soon is the fig tree withered!"(3) Another degree is, that no means shall be able henceforth to do such a person any good; but the curse being passed against him, this is one branch of it, that he shall be like the heath in the wilderness, which shall not see when any good cometh. Now the heath it hath good coming upon it, the rain falleth, the sun shineth, the spring and summer season returneth upon it, but it seeth none of this good, but remaineth a dry and parched heath still; even so it is with a barren soul which God hath begun to curse — the rain, the sun, the season, the Word, sacraments, days of grace, Jesus Christ Himself do him no good; he sees no good towards him in all these; nay, the Word judgeth him, the sacraments are poison unto him, and Christ Himself is a rock of offence to him, on whom he breaketh the neck of his soul. (4) After all these cometh the heavy sentence, unto which by all these this sinner hath been prepared. Cut him down, bring now the are, for the pruning knife hath done him no good; hew him down by death from the ministry under which he hath been so long fruitless, bind him hand and foot, make a faggot of him, and east him into hell fire — cast, I say, that unprofitable servant into utter darkness, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth: and this is the woeful hire of unfruitfulness. III. THE HINDRANCES OF THIS FRUITFULNESS. 1. Superfluity of lusts and inordinate desires, which are as dead branches, and therefore must be lopped off before fruit can be expected; the denial of a man's self so far as corrupt is the first lesson in Christianity. 2. The unfitness of the soil, as if it be stony, or near unto a rock where it cannot take deep roots; the hard and stony heart suffereth not any good seed to take root, and much less rise up to fruit. Or if the soil be a dry ground on which the rain falls not, or on a high and hilly ground on which the rain stayeth not; so the haughty and proud heart shutteth off the rain as fast as it cometh; it moisteneth the crust and outside a little, but it stayeth not to get within it to prepare it to fruitfulness. Or if the ground be shaded that the sun cannot, or seldom, look upon it; if the mind and affections are otherwise distracted, that seldom men set themselves under the means of instruction; the Sun of Righteousness shining in His Church not enlightening, not warming nor cherishing them, not bringing back a new spring upon them, how can we expect fruit from such, unless we can look that a tree which hath been fruitless all the summer should be laden with fruit in the midst of winter. 3. Sundry vain conceits suggested by the devil, and assented unto by men to keep them in unfruitful courses. (1) As many will not stick to object, I hope notwithstanding I have not been hitherto so fruitful as you speak of, yet I have done well enough all this while, and why may I not do so still? and thus resolve because God hath used patience and spared them, He will therefore spare them still in their unfruitfulness. But this is the devil's logic, the clean contrary whereof is the conclusion of the Scripture. Hath God spared thee the second and third year, and art thou still fruitless? He must now needs call for the axe, and this is that which thou must expect. (2) Another saith, "Oh, but I am a member of the Church, and what talk you to me. I hear the Word, receive the sacraments, and though I be not so forward and strict, I hope I shall do well enough." Which is all one as if a fruitless tree should reply to the master and say, "I hope, master, thou wilt not cut me down, I am in thy orchard, and stand near thy house; if I were in the waste I should think thou should care less for me." But will not the master reply, that "Thou must rather go down, because thou standest unprofitable in my orchard."(3) Others say, "Oh, but we are not so fruitless as you take us, and what desire you more?" Whereunto I say, that such have great need to desire better evidences to allege for themselves than this. Thou must not be a privative, but a positive Christian, laden with the fruits of the Spirit, else thou hast lost all thy labour. (T. Taylor, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: And let ours also learn to maintain good works for necessary uses, that they be not unfruitful. |
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